Awkward Royal Couple Moments That Made Everyone Uncomfortable

Being a member of the British royal family might come with some nifty perks — household staff at your beck and call, incredible fashion, adoring fans, permission to wear a crown in real life, and, of course, living in an actual palace. But as with everything in life, there are also some very real downsides. Your every move gets documented by eager paparazzi and dissected by royal watchers on social media. And your most embarrassing moments? They will live on the internet forever.

Most members of the British royal family have had their fair share of public blunders. Whether it was shrugging off affection from their spouse when they forgot the cameras were watching, breaking out their most awkward dance moves, getting caught having a heated exchange by unsuspecting photographers, or dodging flying eggs from disgruntled members of the public, the royals are intimately familiar with the burning sensation of embarrassment.

To their horror (and the pleasure of the public who just can't get enough of them), these blunders continue to live on the internet and serve as a reminder that, while they might live in big castles and wear fancy clothes, the royals are just like us — human beings who make mistakes, and every so often have embarrassing moments. They might not be thrilled that we get to watch it on repeat on the internet, but it does make them appear more human, and therefore, more relatable.

If you've watched "The Crown," you already know about that scene where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had an explosive fight within full view of curious photographers, who captured the incident on camera. While some iconic moments weren't featured on the crown, this royal spat was too juicy to leave out, even though the video evidence no longer exists.

The queen and Philip's heated argument took place during their 1954 Australian tour. A camera crew was waiting outside as the queen was scheduled for a photo op with koalas. The monarch seemingly forgot that they would be there since she took her fight with Philip outside. It's not clear what they were actually arguing about, making the argument featured in "The Crown" obviously fictitious.

Some royal biographers have addressed the spat in their tomes, with Ingrid Seward chronicling what happened that day in "Prince Philip Revealed." In the heat of the argument, the queen lost her temper, chasing Philip out of their chalet. The camera crew saw the prince ducking to avoid getting hit by tennis shoes and a racket as Elizabeth could be heard shouting. The couple quickly retreated inside when they realized their fiery spat was getting documented. Likely mortified, the queen sent her press secretary to negotiate with the journalists outside, who handed over the film after exposing it to light — effectively destroying it. The queen made an appearance shortly after, apologizing for the theatrics. "I am sorry for that little interlude. But as you know it happens in every marriage," she reportedly said.

Several of King Charles III and Princess Diana's interactions made people uncomfortable, but the most cringeworthy one is arguably their engagement interview. Not only was the couple's body language screaming that they were very uncomfortable in front of the cameras, but, in retrospect, it was pretty clear they weren't on the same page as far as true love was concerned. They were asked if they were in love — a rather odd question to ask a couple who just got engaged — but their answers were very telling, with Diana instantly replying, "Of course." Charles, however, responded, "Whatever in love means" (via The Royal Family Channel)  Oof. Charles also asserted that he'd been "delighted and frankly amazed" that Diana wanted to marry him.

The interview is a crash course in red flags, with body language expert Darren Stanton telling the Mirror that the couple's body language wasn't telling the story of two people madly in love. Not only were both of them nervous, but Charles' body language didn't match what he was saying. "During the interview, he admitted to feeling overjoyed and happy. However, he shakes his head from side to side while saying it, which is a contradiction. He was clearly not being truthful when he said he was overjoyed," Stanton noted.

King Charles III and Princess Diana's awkward moments didn't stop at their engagement interview. The general public once again got a whiff that something isn't quite right in their marriage when the two engaged in a passive-aggressive argument smack in the middle of an interview. Charles told the interviewer, "I suspect most husbands and wives find that they often have arguments," and was interrupted by Diana saying, "But we don't!" per ITN Archive. Charles then countered, "Occasionally we do." This resulted in Diana giving her hubby some scorching stink-eye.

The interviewer moved on to their wedding day, which prompted Diana to confess that she didn't actually enjoy all the pomp and circumstance, describing it as "terrifying." She then joked, "I'm only teasing. Or am I?" Charles, meanwhile, answered, "All I can say is that I did enjoy it enormously."

Looking back, the interview is all the more cringeworthy because we didn't know the couple had really bad arguments behind the scenes. So bad, in fact, that royal protection officers feared for both Diana's and Charles' safety. Royal author Christopher Andersen told Fox News that Charles is notoriously short-tempered, according to palace insiders he spoke with. "The tantrums constantly and throwing a bootjack [at her]. It's a heavy wooden device for putting on hunting boots, and it's made of iron and wood. He threw it at Diana's head and just missed her," Andersen claimed.

It was, er, not an outing to remember. Shortly after the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, found themselves at the mercy of some rogue eggs while paying a visit to York in December 2022 for an unveiling ceremony of the queen's statue. As Charles shook hands with officials, eggs flew through the air, landing just short of His Majesty's feet. If only the crack of eggs on the street was the only sound to be heard that day, but alas, the egg-throwing was accompanied by loud boos from the surrounding crowd who came out to see the two royals. Some loyal royal fans tried to drown out the booing with chants of "God save the king."

Charles kept his smile perfectly in place, even as he eyed the eggs landing next to him. Camilla, too, kept her cool. Neither royal made an obvious attempt to dodge the eggs, and they slowly walked out of throwing range while police tried to calm the unruly crowd. It was an awkward moment nonetheless, especially with whispers that the monarchy was set to become even more unpopular after the queen's death.

@palaceconfidential

Awkward moment Queen Camilla has to walk to the other side of the car following her joint appearance with King Charles after the monarch 'steals' her seat 🎥NEWSFLASH #funnyroyals #kingandqueen #queencamilla #kingcharles #royals #royatok

♬ som original – Debbypher A. Williams

It was as much a comical moment as it was an awkward one: Camilla, Queen Consort, and King Charles III were leaving the London Macmillan Cancer Centre at University College Hospital in April 2024 when Charles found himself sitting on the wrong end of the waiting car's backseat. Camilla, carrying an impressive bouquet of flowers, made her way to the car door being held open for her, only to find that her hubby was already occupying her seat. She quickly turned around and huddled to the other side of the car, with the press looking on.

The awkward, yet funny moment went viral on social media, with some pundits suggesting that Princess Diana would have demanded that Charles move his butt over to the other side. Others concurred that the king could have moved and spared the queen the awkward walk around to the car. Someone else noted that it was nice to see the royals' human side, penning, "I like that she makes mistakes. I think she seems like a fun-loving lady." While Charles and Camilla have surely had their fair share of interactions that made people uncomfortable, this moment was one of their more light-hearted blunders.

There are plenty of royal snubs that have made us all cringe, and one of them was a PDA snub from none other than Princess Catherine. At least, that's how it appeared. Catherine and Prince William were attending the BBC Christmas special, "A Berry Royal Christmas," in 2019 when the cameras caught the future king attempting to place a hand on his wife's shoulder. Catherine seemingly wasn't fond of the affectionate gesture, and, in one quick movement, shrugged off her husband's hand, her perfect smile not wavering for a second. William also managed to keep his composure. It was awkward at best, and royal watchers took to social media in droves to point it out.

"Awkward! Too awkward!! They should have cut it out!" one X user opined. "She moved with a quickness," another added on the platform. Others deemed the speculation that the clip is proof of a strained marriage as utter balderdash, arguing that Catherine had simply "shifted in her chair" and that the couple's PDA in other instances, while subtle, serves as proof that their marriage is just fine.

Ah, to dance and be merry! Unfortunately for Prince William and Princess Catherine, their dance moves were seriously lacking during their 2022 Caribbean tour. As the couple attended a welcome festival shortly after their arrival, the locals performed dances for them, inviting them to join in the fun.

Unfortunately, traditional dancing isn't exactly in Wales' wheelhouse. One of the local women grabbed William and started dancing with him. The prince, wide-eyed and uncertain of himself, was the picture of awkwardness, but we give him some well-deserved points for being willing to step out of his comfort zone. Catherine, meanwhile, was dancing by herself, shaking her hips and clapping her hands awkwardly. She, too, deserves a nod for participation.

Aside from starting their trip off on this awkward note, the couple also faced plenty of negative press during their visit. Photographs of them greeting kids through a wired fence raised eyebrows, and some locals weren't happy about their presence. In fact, some Belize locals welcomed the couple with protests instead of dancing. To add insult to injury, the Jamaican prime minister also informed the couple that the country is planning to leave the Commonwealth. In the Bahamas, they were met with more protests for the monarchy's past colonial crimes. In retrospect, the couple's awkward dancing was the least of their problems.

In 2023, Prince William and Princess Catherine attended the wedding of Jordan's Crown Prince Al Hussein and the princess-to-be Rajwa Al Saif. William, who attended Britain's Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst with the crown prince, could be seen chatting away to the new princess before quickly moving on. Catherine, however, stayed awhile.

The Princess of Wales seemed to hit it off with Princess Rajwa, so much so that William deemed her conversation with the royal too lengthy. In a viral video clip, the prince can be seen gesturing to Catherine to wrap up the conversation. Catherine glances at him, then continues her conversation with the princess. Clearly, she wasn't about to be bossed around by her other half at a royal wedding. The moment quickly went viral, with some commending Catherine for holding her own.

Princess Catherine isn't the only one who's guilty of snubbing PDA. Prince William once seemed to dole out a snub of his own in 2025 while the couple was visiting Northern Ireland. As the prince was shaking hands with a couple of folks, Catherine seemed to find a place to stand without looking too awkward. At one point, she was behind her husband and reached for his hand, then his waist, with William appearing to swat her hand away. Er, not a good look. It might have been an accident, but it was awkward nonetheless and spawned unflattering headlines questioning whether the couple's marriage is crumbling behind the scenes.

It's worth noting, however, that William and Catherine have been commended for showing more PDA in recent years, especially after Catherine's cancer diagnosis, with a source telling Us Weekly in 2024 that "they used to be more reserved." Royal commentator Katie Nicholl told The Mirror in September 2025 that Catherine and William are very affectionate when the cameras aren't rolling, which means, as awkward as that apparent hand swat was, it probably wasn't a sign of an underlying issue.

It was an incredibly subtle moment, but eagle-eyed pundits spotted a very uncomfortable moment between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle while the couple attended Princess Eugenie's wedding in 2019. Harry had some thoughts, and Meghan seemingly wasn't in the mood to entertain them. In a viral clip of the moment, the couple can be seen seated in St. George's Chapel, waiting for the bride to arrive. Meghan looked straight ahead with a polite smile, but Harry seemed a little fidgety, leaning over to the duchess to whisper something. If you're not paying attention, you might miss it, but shortly after responding to Harry, Meghan appears to roll her eyes at her hubby.

While lip readers didn't have much success deciphering the conversation between the couple, body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail that the couple's body language hinted they weren't exactly feeling all loved up that day. James noted that Meghan appeared stern and that Harry "leans into the side of his seat like a child that has just been told to sit still." Awkward.

Given that she was a commoner just like the rest of us before marrying Prince Harry, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Meghan Markle's most awkward moments occurred during her time as a member of the royal family. While making an appearance on the palace balcony for Trooping the Colour in 2019, Meghan received a live lecture from Harry on how you're seemingly not supposed to turn your back on the crowd during the proceedings — people are taking pictures! Meghan could be seen turning to speak to Harry — not once, but twice — and the prince telling her to "turn around" (via YouTube). Meghan then stands looking straight ahead without moving a muscle.

The moment appeared to have caused some tension between the couple, but an analysis by The Mirror pointed out that Harry might simply have given Meghan a heads-up that the music for the national anthem was about to start and that she had to stand at attention. As for whether or not Meghan was actually feeling a little offended by Harry's instructions, we'll probably never know.

@grannymerp

Meghan Markle had an awkward moment at the polo when she couldn't get into view as Prince Harry raised a trophy with his teammates. 🤣 #MeghanMarkle

♬ Comedy Scenes – Comical, stupid, silly, loose, comical, farce(1295330) – Ponetto

All Prince Harry and his teammates wanted to do was show off their giant polo trophy after a successful match in 2023, but Meghan Markle quite literally got in the way. The proud duchess appeared eager to join her hubby and his team in celebration, wearing a ginormous hat and a pair of sunglasses. The hat's size didn't help as Meghan tried to squeeze in between Harry and the other players as they attempted to hoist the trophy overhead. As each teammate tried to put their hands on the trophy for a photo op, Meghan stood right underneath it, making the feat almost impossible. At one point, she tried to take hold of the trophy, to no avail. She momentarily held onto her hat before engaging in some awkward clapping, keeping a big grin on her face.

In the aftermath, royal commentator Kara Kennedy told Sky News, "This had nothing to do with her, it's obviously very awkward that she very clearly wasn't meant to be on stage, this hadn't been rehearsed...this wasn't a PR opportunity of any kind, but she obviously sees it as one," per SheFinds.

In November 2025, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made headlines for attending Kris Jenner's 70th birthday party. Then they made even juicier headlines for disappearing from the cache of photos from that night that were posted to social media. The party, which was hosted at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Beverly Hills mansion, boasted a star-studded guest list, and in photographs the public saw before they were deleted, Harry and Meghan looked thrilled to be surrounded by Hollywood royalty.

Shortly after the pictures were posted by Jenner and Kim Kardashian, however, they disappeared again, raising eyebrows. It almost appeared as if the Kardashian clan regretted inviting the royals, but British journalist and gossip columnist Rob Shuter revealed on his Substack that sources said the Sussexes demanded the photographs be taken down because they hadn't signed off on them getting posted. Apparently, Jenner was less than thrilled. "Kris doesn't like being told what to do — especially not by royals who live in Montecito. She said if Meghan and Harry want control, they can have it — just not on her guest list," one insider dished.